Portugal without the crowds

History of Evora

Slatherings of history overlay this landscape and these pretty
towns. More than 150 menhirs, dolmens and cromlechs are dotted
around the northern Alentejo, making this a rich seam of neolithic
culture. Even for non-antiquarians, the stone circle at Almendres,
outside Evora, is atmospheric in its sylvan setting.

During the first century BC, the Romans established a seat of
power in the region and called their settlement Ebora Liberalitas
Julia. The city continued to enjoy a measure of importance until
the 18th century, when it began to sink into provincial obscurity.
But if its monuments and its streets of historic houses fell into
desuetude, most of them were eventually restored, and Evora fully
deserves the UNESCO World Heritage status conferred upon it in
1986.